MUC Interview: John Noble Barrack releases new single "Salem"
John Noble Barrack releases new single "Salem." You can listen to the single here.
Photo by Maegan Gindi
Tell us what this project means to you!
This is the most I've ever felt like myself in an artistic adventure. I've worked in Theater, TV, and Film for the past while. Through all the highs and all the joy I've experienced in that field, I have honestly never felt closer to my own thoughts, feelings, and desires. I've been able to process and say things I otherwise wouldn't have been able to confront. I'm super proud of the work that my team has done, too. My mission has been to help those going through tough times feel less alone. I hope you're able to find some community in this space. What concert/live show have you been to that impacted you the most?
Seeing Brandi Carlile live. I had never left a performance feeling like the artist's best friend until I saw her perform live. I'd honestly never cried at a show before hers. She offered so much connection and so little artifice. She needed to be there and needed to reveal as much of herself as she could. The show wasn't composed to make me feel any special way about her, but rather raw and vulnerable and she let me hear every good and bad detail. I could have been sitting next to her and I could have been in the back of Madison Square Garden: I would have felt the same relationship. I strive for that in all my live shows. What charities would you love to work with in the future? Are there any others that are important to you that you aren't currently a part of?
I would love to be more involved in the Pan Mass Challenge. I love being a rider and fundraising for myself, but I know I might have even more of an impact if I can help more on the organizational side, whether that means leading my own team or helping coordinate the ride itself. I haven't been involved in the Mass General Hospital Fund yet and would love to be. That's the hospital where they took such good care of my dad during his 4 years in cancer treatment. They gave him comfort and me at least a few more years with him. I owe them so much. What drives your passion for music?
Music gets at the deepest nature of human beings. it doesn't matter if it is someone's inner thoughts while going through a friend-break up or igniting our general party animals- there is something primal and fierce in music. Do you have a pre-performance ritual?
I look up and just say thank you to my family who have gone before me. I then hold my grandfather's guitar (the acoustic that I play on) and thank him personally. What are your interests outside of the creative world?
I'm actually a big gamer! I built my own gaming PC back in 2015 and have been updating it since. If you ever want to play on Steam with me, my gamer tag is Red Leader ;)
Weaving stories of grief, hope, death, disillusionment, and euphoria through the eyes of a twenty-something New Englander, John Noble Barrack stops at nothing. The Brooklyn-based folk/rock singer-songwriter has appeared on stage in New York City, Saratoga Springs, NY, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, and Savannah, Georgia – all while writing his first four singles (coming late 2021), appearing on TV twice (Bull; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and navigating a thankfully waning laundry list of day jobs.
John Noble Barrack is also a man of great athletic ability with a heart of gold, and has raised money through biking and running for cancer research, and has given his time to amazing charities that benefit many important causes.
Charities John Noble Barrack has been involved in include the Pan Mass Challenge: https://www.pmc.org/, where he raised over $10,000 in 2020 and biked 190 miles for cancer research. He has also run in races such as the Boston Olympic Triathlon, Oceanside Half Ironman, NYC Central Park and Far Rockaway triathlon and has raised money for nonprofits such as National Disability Theater and The Actors Fund. Barrack has most recently become heavily involved in The Theater Offensive, whose mission is to present liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color that transcends artistic boundaries, celebrates cultural abundance, and dismantles oppression.